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 Replies: 11 / Views: 2,591 |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
SOmeone cleared out an old lab and found some ampoules of various Chemicals. I found a listing where they were selling mercury ampoules (about 1g per ampoule, so not much) and thought: 'Well, they've got mercury, I wonder what else they have'.
I probed a bit and struck a deal. For £20, I'm getting ampoules of Gold, Silver, Bromine, Phosphorous and Mercury. I'm also getting about 10g of Iodine.
The gold is roughly (they cant be sure because its in the ampoule) .5g, 24k. The silver wont be more than a gram or so. The mercury is 1g. The Bromine is 1g...its an ampoule inside an ampoule, that stuffs dangerous and you dont want it breaking by accident. The phosphorous is in mineral oil to stop it reacting.
What do we think of this purchase? The gold isn't toooo bad for that price.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2805 Posts |
Awesome :D
I have a little vial of mercury salvaged from a couple broken thermostats. My dad told me about the time he was rolling some mercury around in his hand (because the 70s were a crazy time) and it amalgamated on his dad's wedding ring, which he wasn't supposed to be wearing (he doesn't remember why he had it on)... so he heated it over a candle, indoors (!).
I've also got a piece of uranium glass, a radium watch (wearing it for 12 hours is equal to one dental X-ray, my great-grandpa wore it for 20 years and lived to 92) and an americium smoke-detector source.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
My father once had about 200 ml. of mercury (about 6 pounds of the stuff), of which he was wishing to dispose of, when converting a chemical laboratory to normal use.
He gave it to me, to give to the local high school. They use it to demonstrate the Torricellian barometer.
He also gave me about about a quarter kilo of metallic sodium metal.
This rather dangerous metal was stored under kerosene, in a glass stoppered bottle. This material also went to the local high school laboratory. Haven't the faintest clue what they did with it, but it was quite happily accepted by them.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
979 Posts |
How many of each did you get? 1? Even still, the gold is about 13.10 British Pound Sterling for melt value alone. The oddity of it probably carries some premium. Got any pics of the ampoules? I would say for the sheer oddity of the items, plus the purity, you did well! 0.5 gram ingots of .999 gold sell for 18.56 pounds on ebay. Since yours is pure it should be in that ballpark. So really, if you go by selling price, not scrap price, the gold was pretty much worth it on its own. Good deal, Ben :) |
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Pillar of the Community
 United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
I highly doubt its half a gram...it is stamped 24K Gold, but id think each flake would be a grain which would make it a 4 grain vial. The mercury is really cool. Slosh it about and you can feel how much heavier than water it is. The bromine on the other hand, is terrifying. I think I might dispose of it rather than keep such a fragile thing of poison in my house.    |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
979 Posts |
Definitely cool to have either way :)
The mercury is really cool
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
11922 Posts |
Looks dangerous... I like it.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
The phosphorus is no picnic either, as well as be an incendiary it can also be highly toxic. As well as being regulated by the DEA as a reagent in reducing sudafed into meth. Got a local meth lab ?
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
Quote:
Got a local meth lab ? Lets hope not! I dont think Meth is popular round these parts, anyway. More of an American thing. It is bloody dangerous. I dropped the Hg (rolled off the edge...) and luckily it bounced...put them more secure now, not having that. The bromine is bad stuff. I dont know how to dispose of it! Perhaps put it in a block of resin and bury it. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2805 Posts |
I'd phone up your local university's lab staff, to see if they want it or know how to get rid of it.
If you like bromine, though, you can buy little samples of it sealed in STURDY lucite cylinders or cubes.
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
11922 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1903 Posts |
Bromine isn't THAT horrible unless it comes in contact with mucus membranes ( it becomes hydrobromic acid). I know this first hand as I suffered bromine burns in my nose once. Bromine gas was/is used to sterilize soil on a commercial level. Just be careful and don't huff the stuff and you will be fine.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 2,591 |
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Posted 10/18/2013 02:35 am
